The Reflection of a Shadow
by Empress Dots
Summary: AU Golden Sun. Isaac is an elite student at a military academy. When he's hired to assassinate someone, his world is turned upside down. Mudshipping. 2-21-04: I LIVE! Chapter 3 up, Isaac and the others arrive in Prox.
1. The Soldier

The Reflection of a Shadow   
  
A/N: Hello! Welcome to my first Golden Sun AU story!  
  
Picard: Take this as a sign that she's been playing too much Final Fantasy 8.  
  
I haven't played that in months, Picard!  
  
Picard: Regardless . . .  
  
Anyway, on to business!  
  
Kakyou: . . . She doesn't own it. . . .  
  
Picard: Hey, he spoke! (stares, then irritated vein) To be more precise, Empress Dotdotdot doesn't own the rights to the game nor the rights to the characters, music, et cetera. She recently got the Kikuichimonji on her game, though, so she is rather excited!  
  
Wheee! Kikuichimonji!  
  
Picard: See? My, what a K-sword can do to people! *shakes head*  
  
Now, on to the story!  
  
********************  
  
The Reflection of a Shadow  
  
Chapter 1: The Soldier  
  
********************  
  
Official Report  
  
  
  
School Name: Angara Academy  
  
  
  
Location: Kalay, Angara (Additional recruitment offices located in Vale, Imil, and Suhalla)  
  
  
  
Student Population: One hundred fifty students from across the continents of Angara and Gondowan: Fifty Mars Adepts, forty-three Venus Adepts, twenty-seven Mercury Adepts, and thirty Jupiter Adepts.   
  
  
  
Faculty Population: Thirty faculty members, including one principal, two assistant principals, seven counselors, and twenty teachers.  
  
  
  
Angara Academy is a facility devoted to the training of soldiers-for hire, also known as "mercenaries." The Academy specializes in training magical abilities (Psynergy) that a student has within him/her. By training a student's Psynergy to its maximum potential, the Academy believes that their ability to fight will also be heightened.  
  
  
  
Weapon training includes handguns, swords(light and heavy), maces, staffs, and sniper rifles. On occasion, additional training is given in other weaponry as well. Students receive light training in all of these subjects, but may choose one to specialize in. This specialization determines what missions they will receive upon awarding of soldier status. Graduated students are welcome to remain at the Academy, as long as they keep themselves in prime condition.  
  
  
  
There are also Academies in Hesperia (servicing Hesperia, Atteka, and the Western Sea) and Osenia (servicing Osenia, Indra, and the Eastern Sea).  
  
  
  
Missions are accepted from any and all sources, as long as the source is willing to pay.  
  
  
  
***************************  
  
  
  
"Any and all sources?" A man asked, looking over the sheet of paper.  
  
  
  
"Yes, as long as the price is right," his servant replied.  
  
  
  
The report slipped from the man's hand. "I want their top sniper. Now."  
  
  
  
"Sir?" his servant asked, leaning over and picking up the report.  
  
  
  
"Don't you get it? We can get rid of our stinking enemies once and for all, if we just assassinate their leader!"  
  
  
  
"Sir, assassination? Are you sure?"  
  
  
  
"You say assassination' like it's a bad thing! Some of the best leaders in the world ordered assassinations. It's how change comes about! Now, get Angara Academy on the line and demand their highest-level sniper. If he requires a team, so be it. And I don't care what the price is! If you can't get one there, call Hesperia Academy, or Osenia Academy! The leader has to die!"  
  
  
  
"Sir!" The servant bowed and quickly walked out of the room.  
  
  
  
The man straightened his tie and snickered. "Ah, soon this country will be mine again."  
  
  
  
****************************  
  
  
  
"Aw, c'mon, Isaac, you can goof around with us once in a while!"  
  
  
  
" . . . multiply by the cotangent, then divide by . . ."  
  
  
  
"Isaac! Did you hear me!?" Garet walked over to his friend and snatched the math book out of his hands. "You've got to quit being so serious, man! All work and no play makes Ike a dull boy, you know."  
  
  
  
"Give that back," Isaac said, straining to try and regain his math book. "And don't call me Ike!"  
  
  
  
"Jenna! Catch!" Garet yelled, throwing the book across the room. An auburn-haired girl grabbed it and held it up.  
  
  
  
"Got it, Garet!" she yelled.   
  
  
  
Garet himself was a very tall seventeen-year-old boy, with very spiky red hair that made him look a foot taller than he actually was. His whole body was packed with muscle. His eyes were a reddish brown color underneath thick eyebrows. He wore a red shirt under a denim jacket, with blue jeans and black sneakers. Fingerless black gloves were on his hands.  
  
  
  
Some would call Garet an idiot or thick-headed, but never to his face.Garet hated being called stupid and would pound your face in if he heard you insult him. Many of the students at Angara Academy had spread rumors that he thought with his fists--earning the right answers by beating them out of some smaller, weaker student. People thought of him as the stereotypical jock; all brawn and no brains.  
  
  
  
In reality, Isaac knew differently. Garet often earned high marks in his classes; he was in the top ten percent of his age level, and the number two student among the Fire Adepts. He was friendly and polite to the teachers, but his intimidating build had made him into an infamous legend at the Academy. His high marks were due to his extreme levels of concentration; instead of worrying about tedious subjects that didn't concern him, he focused his attention instead on doing the best at what he liked or what was the most important. Garet also had a very playful streak, as evidenced by him and the girl Jenna playing "keep-away" with Isaac's trigonometry book.  
  
  
  
Garet was very much a sword-master. His muscles showed it, and he had taken to wearing gloves to prevent himself from getting any more blisters on his palms. He was a match for even some of the instructors when it came to heavy sword fighting. He knew how to use light swords as well, but was much better at using heavy blades. His fire Psynergy was some of the strongest in the Academy; he had even mastered the difficult art of combining his Psynergy with his blade in an attack he called "Liquefier."  
  
  
  
Jenna, the other member of the "harassment squad," as Isaac liked to call them on occasion, was a seventeen-year-old girl with long auburn hair tinted slightly violet from old hair dye that never quite washed out. She was tall and thin, and kept her long hair tied into a high ponytail. Her eyes were, like Garet's, a muddled red-brown, framed by thick, dark eyelashes and thin, well-plucked eyebrows. She wore blue jeans, with a purple short-sleeved shirt and a bandana tied around her upper left arm. A gold necklace with a ruby charm was around her neck, and a different chain held Garet's golden class ring that he had given her. Her eyes were touched with mascara and dark red eye shadow, her cheeks were slightly pink with blush, and her lips glittered slightly from her lip gloss. Flame-shaped earrings were in each ear.  
  
  
  
Like Garet, Jenna had also earned herself a bad reputation: the Academy slut. Rumors flew that she slept with whoever was open and sometimes tricked guys into laying her. Unlike Garet's reputation, however, Isaac had no idea where this one had come from. Jenna had never slept with anyone, including him or Garet, her closest friends. She was a very stubborn girl, and her standards were higher than Mount Aleph. She wouldn't even kiss goodnight on the first date. She was the one student higher than Garet in the Fire Adept class, and also very close to him in their age division. She, too, had a playful streak, though not the kind of "playful" that the other Academy boys liked to imagine. And her temper was hotter than the flames of the sun.   
  
  
  
Jenna knew how to use all of the required weapons, but her specialties were light swords and staffs. Isaac had once seen her knock over an opponent with nothing more than a long tree branch. Her Fire Psynergy was also somewhat unique; she was one of the few female Mars Adepts at the Academy and could therefore use moderate levels of healing magic along with attack powers.  
  
  
  
Then there was Isaac himself. He was somewhat tall for seventeen, but not quite as tall as Garet, with blonde hair he rarely combed and sapphire-colored eyes. He, like Garet, had some muscle on him, but not nearly as much as the taller redhead. His untamed, sand-colored hair spiked out in almost every direction imaginable. More than anything, he was thin and obviously lithe, but not very good at jumping, exhibited by his tries to regain his book. He wore black jeans, with a yellow-gold shirt and a black leather jacket.  
  
  
  
Isaac was what some would call a "loner." He was cold, introspective, and sometimes downright mean. He also didn't talk much; those speaking to him usually received only gestures as replies to their questions. A nod meant yes, a shake of the head meant no, a shrug meant either, and so on. He was brilliant, though; he was the top student in both his age division and his Psynergy class. Jenna and Garet could tell others that if you got close enough to Isaac, he'd open up to you; that the only problem Isaac had was a difficult life and a protective shell around his heart. The only problem with their truth-telling was that Isaac would deny it to the day he died. He'd sooner perish in dishonor or obscurity than be pitied or looked upon as weak.  
  
  
  
Unlike Garet, he ignored the insults and rumors that he heard. Some said he was a demon trapped in a human body. Others said he had been sexually abused, while still others said that he had sexually abused someone else. He doesn't know how to speak properly, he has a Tundarian accent, he had a curse set on him as a baby, his voice is like a snake's. Rumor after rumor about him circled the campus: he was the headmaster's illegitimate son, he was a spy for another country preparing to declare war on Angara, he had his vocal cords cut out as a child, he was an android or an alien, the list went on.  
  
  
  
And Isaac didn't care. "Let them talk," he'd say to Garet and Jenna when they voiced their concerns. "Let them believe whatever they will. I know the truth, and that's all that really matters, isn't it."  
  
  
  
Garet and Jenna also knew the truth: Isaac had been abandoned as a little boy. His mother had passed away giving birth to him, and his father had labored for years to try to make things work, Isaac had told them once. Finally, in a frustrated rage, Isaac's father had driven the six-year-old boy into the wilderness and left him there. Even Isaac wasn't sure how he had survived, but he had somehow ended up at the Academy and had lived there since. Isaac could hardly remember his father's face, and he never spoke of it to anyone except Garet and Jenna, who in turn shared it with no one else.  
  
  
  
Isaac's specialty was clear by one feature of his; he had a small scar near one of his eyebrows. It came from holding a powerful gun's scope too close to his eye and getting hit by the gun's kick. He had worn a thick piece of gauze at that spot for a few days. Since then, he had learned much more about guns and had even become somewhat of a master at them. Yes, handguns were fine. Easy to carry, easy to load, easy to shoot. Perhaps too easy. No thrill involved. Handguns were made only for convenience, not for work. Military guns he didn't understand. Heavy, slow, loud, no convenience whatsoever except to kill and brag that the most recent "bang" had been yours. Military weaponry was created for the purpose of scare tactics and of bragging. Boasters lived by military guns.  
  
  
  
What Isaac really knew was sniper rifles. He loved the thrill of aiming ever-so-carefully and silently, of being the killer in the shadows, of killing quietly and moving on. Isaac had never actually killed a man, but he lived for the adrenalin that coursed through his veins at the squeeze of the trigger, the sudden speed of his heartbeat, the loud breathing that was his own. And with a slight tightening of his fingers, it ended. His mission ended. A life ended. And he would have to wait for another opportunity, another chance to slaughter a practice dummy, to feel the thrill that kept him alive. Sometimes Isaac wondered if the living for the rush meant he did have a demon living inside him, striving to be free and to wreak havoc, to tear and rip, to kill, to shed both innocent and corrupted blood.  
  
  
  
At the moment, that demon was currently jumping and yelling in humiliation at his two friends as he tried to retrieve his trigonometry book.  
  
  
  
The so-called demon was probably very relieved that he and his two friends were the only ones in the cafeteria at the time.  
  
  
  
"I have my trig final tomorrow, Garet! I need to study! Give it back!" Isaac leapt up again, waving his arms in the air.   
  
  
  
"Back over to you, Jenna!" Garet yelled, tossing the book again.   
  
  
  
"You've been studying all day, Isaac," Jenna said, catching the book. "You ought to take some time off. You know, if you cram too much all at once, you'll burn yourself out."  
  
  
  
"Yeah!" Garet nodded vigorously. "Let's spar or something!"  
  
  
  
"Spar? With you? I'm a gunman, my friend, or did you forget? I don't spar the way you think of it."  
  
  
  
Jenna giggled. "Yeah, Garet, you'd better watch out! His sparring is this!" She raised her free arm, her hand in a fist with the thumb and first finger extended to form a gun shape. "Bang, you're dead! Sparring's over!" She laughed again.  
  
  
  
"A sniper rifle is a coward's weapon," Garet said, sitting down at Isaac's table. Jenna also came over, placing the book back down in front of her blonde friend. Garet leaned forward. "Fighting from far away is cowardice. Don't you ever wish you were up with the action, Isaac? The only people who enjoy far-off fighting are guerrillas and assassins."  
  
  
  
"I don't intend to be a guerilla fighter, and assassins get paid far more than normal fighters like you," Isaac said in reply. "Snipers may be cowards, but swordsmen are brutes."  
  
  
  
Jenna stood up and put her hands on her hips. "And what about swordswomen?" she demanded.  
  
  
  
"Swordswomen are girls that wish they weren't," Isaac said.   
  
  
  
Jenna gaped. "Well, I never!" she managed to stammer.  
  
  
  
The three argued like this all the time.Teachers had stopped breaking up their fights after weeks of doing so in Garet and Jenna's first year with Isaac. Isaac, at ten years old, had immediately formed a strong bond with the two, and proved it by ceaselessly arguing with them.The three still carried on these quarrels, even though their graduation was coming up soon.  
  
  
  
"I thought you were a staff fighter, not a sword fighter," Garet said.  
  
  
  
Jenna flushed slightly. "Well,I'm still trying to figure that out. You see, I got higher marks on my Light Blade exam than on my Staff exam."  
  
  
  
"How'd you pull that one off?" Isaac asked. "I've see you fight with both, and I have to say you're far more impressive with a staff."  
  
  
  
Jenna's cheeks grew redder. "I tripped," she muttered.  
  
  
  
"You tripped?" Garet interrupted. "They're not supposed to mark you down on that, are they?"  
  
  
  
Jenna's voice had become very quiet. "I tripped over my own staff."  
  
  
  
Isaac and Garet's faces lit with understanding. "Ohhhh," they breathed simultaneously.  
  
  
  
"It was a mistake!" she yelled. "Anyone could have done it! It was a simple goof-up! They gave me a staff that was way too big for me, and . . . oh, forget it!"  
  
  
  
"It's okay, Jenna, it could happen to anyone," Isaac said. "The equipment they supply for the final exams is in none-too-perfect condition. I nearly gave myself another scar from the gun they made me use."  
  
  
  
"Yeah, and the sword they gave me was practically rusted all the way through," Garet added.  
  
  
  
"What were your scores, anyway? You can always go for a double specialization," Isaac said. Few students had double specializations; most had just a specialty and backup training in one other form of weaponry, though they were educated in almost all styles. Isaac himself was a sniper specialist with a fallback in handguns. Garet was a Heavy Blader with a Light Blade backup.  
  
  
  
"Umm," Jenna said, looking up, "I got a 143 on Staff and a 148 on Light Blade." The scores were out of 155, and it was nearly impossible to get higher than a 152.  
  
  
  
"That's nothing," Garet said with a wave of his hand. "Five points? Go for the double, Jenna! You'll get more assignments that way."   
  
  
  
"I don't know why I didn't think of that," Jenna muttered, turning red once again.  
  
  
  
"Probably because there's so much extra paperwork involved," Isaac said. "I think you should go for the Staff. A 143 won't look nearly as bad as you think it will on your records. Besides, you're much better with a staff. What about your Psynergy test scores?"  
  
  
  
"147," Jenna said.  
  
  
  
"Me too," Garet added. "What about you,Isaac?"  
  
  
  
Isaac winced slightly and closed his eyes. "I don't want to say."  
  
  
  
"C'mon, you can tell us, Isaac," Garet said.  
  
  
  
"They can't be that bad. You're the top of your class!" Jenna said.  
  
  
  
Isaac took a deep breath. "Fine," he said at last. "155."  
  
  
  
Garet and Jenna stared at him. "A perfect score!"Jenna whispered. "You really are the top of the class!"  
  
  
  
"I think the judges were playing favorites," Isaac said. "I have been here since I was six."  
  
  
  
"Either that, or you just rock," Garet said. "Wow. I'm friends with the best Venus Adept on Weyard! What about your Sniper scores? Are they 155, too?"  
  
  
  
"No, 149," Isaac said. "Like I said, the gun they let me use was in pitiful condition. Hadn't been cleaned for years. Probably centuries old, too. What about your scores, Garet?"  
  
  
  
"153."  
  
  
  
"And you call me impressive. Mr. Heavy Blader, you amaze me."  
  
  
  
Garet now reddened. "Isaac, shut up," he muttered.  
  
  
  
****************************  
  
  
  
"He wants our best sniper, Headmaster. Says he's willing to pay any price and accept a team if it's required."  
  
  
  
"Our best sniper?" Headmaster Kyle asked, looking up from one of the files on his desk.  
  
  
  
"That's what he's requesting," his secretary Kay replied. "Should I tell him that we'll get back to him with the name?"  
  
  
  
Kyle pulled a single sheet of paper from the file and looked at the student's record. "No, I know who our top sniper is," he said, looking at the student's picture. "The only problem is that he hasn't graduated yet. Ask the customer if he can wait about a week. I'll promise him the finest sniper Weyard has ever seen."  
  
  
  
Kay picked up the phone receiver again and began talking very quickly. "Our headmaster knows just the student for you, sir. However, he's not graduating for another week. Can you wait" --she listened for a moment-- "yes, sir, I understand that time is money, sir . . . no, sir . . . the Headmaster says this will be the finest sniper in Weyard if you can wait, sir. Yes, sir, we--no, sir--just a moment, please." Kay held out the phone to Kyle. "He wants to speak to you."  
  
  
  
Kyle muttered something under his breath, pushing his glasses up his nose before taking the receiver. "What can I do for you today?" he asked in his best professional voice.  
  
  
  
"What's the soldier's name?" the voice on the other side was low, with a snakelike hiss to it.  
  
  
  
"I can't tell you that, not until I know the details," Kyle replied. "I can promise you he'll do the job, though, provided you pay."  
  
  
  
"A week is too long to wait," the man responded. "Can you possibly get him here sooner?"  
  
  
  
"No, graduation is exactly one week from today. He must attend the ceremony or he doesn't receive soldier status," Kyle said.  
  
  
  
"I'll call Osenia Academy, then."  
  
  
  
"I wouldn't do that, sir, the Headmaster of Osenia tends to vastly overcharge his customers," Kyle said. "I'm more interested in keeping my customers than earning my money."  
  
  
  
The voice on the other side drew in a breath. "Hesperia Academy?" it said in a half-question.  
  
  
  
"They don't train gunmen in Hesperia," Kyle replied. "I'm afraid, sir, that Angara Academy is your best choice. You will wait a week or you will get a second-rate sniper. Besides, I need to know where to send my student once he graduates."  
  
  
  
There was a pause. "Prox," the other voice said. "You will send him to Prox. And I need to know his name so I may know who I am looking for."  
  
  
  
"All right. His name is Isaac Sol, and he's a Sniper specialist with back training in use of handguns. He's top of his class, and received the highest score among those students testing for Sniper status. He also received a perfect score of his Psynergy exam."  
  
  
  
The man on the other end of the line spoke to someone else for a moment, then spoke into the phone. "Does he have a team?"  
  
  
  
"That's entirely at his discretion, sir. You'll find out when he arrives. Prox, you said?"  
  
  
  
"Yes. That will be good. We will pay when he arrives. What percentage goes to you?"  
  
  
  
"Fifty. Half the profit is mine, the other half is his. Just give him all the money. He knows where to send my share."  
  
  
  
"And what's his description?" the man continued.  
  
  
  
Kyle glanced at the photograph that was paper-clipped to Isaac's record. "Tall, thin, blonde-haired, and blue-eyed. His hair's a mess. Slightly muscular and pale-skinned. Scar near one eyebrow."  
  
  
  
"We will look for him in one week." There was a click, and the other man was gone.  
  
  
  
Kyle slammed down the receiver. "I didn't even get to ask what he wanted a sniper for!" he said.  
  
  
  
"An assassination, what else?" Kay said. "Should I process the mission write-up?"  
  
  
  
"Go ahead. Isaac Sol is the name, and he'll be heading to Prox."  
  
  
  
Kay looked up and blinked. "Prox? As in the Snow Angels?"  
  
  
  
"The what?" Kyle frowned.  
  
  
  
"The Snow Angels. They're a rebel group fighting against the Proxan government, claiming that it's oppressive and discriminatory." She raised one eyebrow as she glanced at Kyle. "What rock have you been living under for the last ten years?"  
  
  
  
"My office ceiling," Kyle replied. "Angara Academy takes up all my time. It's not like I'm even mildly interested in Prox, anyway."  
  
  
  
"Well, maybe the Snow Angels are recruiting Isaac to assassinate the Proxan President."  
  
  
  
"Or maybe the President wants Isaac to assassinate the Snow Angel leader," Kyle said.   
  
  
  
"Or," Kay continued, "maybe we don't know what we're talking about and it has nothing to do with the President or the Angels. Nevertheless, I'll get that report written. As soon as the graduation ceremonies are over, we'll give him the assignment. He'll probably want to take his friends Garet and Jenna with him."  
  
  
  
"That's the customer's problem, not mine." Kyle slipped Isaac's report back into his file. "It looks like it's time for the soldier without a past to start making his future."  
  
  
  
"Sir?" Kay asked, blinking again.  
  
  
  
"Never mind, Kay. Just get that written up."  
  
  
  
And Isaac chatted with Garet and Jenna, unaware that his future was taking shape in the keys of a computer.  
  
  
  
**********************************  
  
  
  
More notes: How Isaac gave himself a scar actually happened to one of my friends! Lesson learned: don't hold a gun too close to your eye!  
  
What d'ya think? Yeah, yeah, way too much FF8 for Dotdotdot, I know, I know . . .  
  
Picard: Whee! Kikuichimonji!  
  
Hey, what are you doing with that!? Get back here! *shakes head* My, what a K-sword can do to people!  
  
Yes, Kyle is the Headmaster! The Kyle! As in Isaac's-dad-from-the-games Kyle! But he's not Isaac's dad in this, don't worry. And any guesses as to who Kay the secretary is? That's right! Garet's sister from the game! And I'm now accepting guesses: who do you think wanted to hire the sniper? What side are they on? I don't have any fabulous prizes, but, hey. . . .  
  
Well, review! Go ahead! You know you want to! 


	2. Graduation

The Empress! Has Returned! TO FF. N!!!   
  
Yeah, I know it's been a long time since I updated this story. I would have posted sooner! Really! But ff.n had a little hiccup, so...   
  
Also, it requires a very specific mood for writing, and I had to play some more FF8 before I could get into that mood. This story is very dark for my Golden Sun style. I write like this for FF8, but not GS... so it's a challenge! I like challenges!  
  
Picard: Right. Next time try a challenge you can handle.  
  
Shut up! Freeloader! All you other authors out there, NEVER voluntarily get muses! THIS *waves at Picard* is what happens!  
  
Picard: *finishes another Mountain Dew*  
  
Hurry up and do the disclaimer, you louse, so I can get on with this!  
  
Picard: Uh-huh. *yawns* Do you honestly think she could ever come up with something as creative as Golden Sun on her own? Didn't think so...  
  
Sheesh... some muse you are...  
  
************************  
  
Chapter 2:  
  
Graduation  
  
************************  
  
"The match goes to Garet!"   
  
"Ha ha, any doubts that I'm a 153 now, Hsu?"  
  
Hsu and Garet had been dueling with their heavy blades for the fourth time that day. Hsu Ulmuch was a heavy student, with a round face and a bowl-shaped haircut. His hair and eyes were dark brown, and his whole body was rather ball-shaped. He, like Garet, was a Heavy Blade specialist, though his body was built from much less muscle than Garet's hardened frame. Hsu had scored a 145 on the Heavy Blade exam, but was unwilling to admit that a "pansy like Garet Jerra" had been able to outscore him.  
  
Isaac had watched all four rounds with Jenna and Feizhi, Hsu's girlfriend. The two girls had ben declared as the judges for the sword fights, and even Feizhi admitted that Garet had wiped the floor with Hsu.  
  
"There's . . . no . . . way that you beat me," Hsu panted, falling to his knees.  
  
Isaac leaned back in his chair, stretching slightly and yawning. All four matches had ended this exact same way. Garet boasted, Hsu denied, Garet gloated, and Hsu challenged him to a rematch. It was getting to be very boring, and even more predictable.  
  
"You just can't seem to beat me, can you?" Garet said, leaning over Hsu and grinning. "Might as well give up, Hsu Ulmuch. I've beaten you all four times now. I'm 153 material. You're not even worthy of a 145."  
  
Isaac counted down silently. 3, 2, 1 . . .  
  
"I demand a rematch!" Hsu yelled, looking up and glaring at Garet. Garet snickered.  
  
"What, you want me to whup your sorry ass again, Hsu? Four beatings isn't enough for you? Why don't you just crawl back to Feizhi with your tail between your legs?" He grinned. "Or do you even have a tail?"  
  
"I cannot allow a Valean like you to destroy my Xian pride!"  
  
"Xian pride, huh? Xian shame, more like it," Garet said, grinning smugly. "You make the other people of Xian look bad, Ulmuch!"  
  
"I demand a rematch, Jerra!"  
  
"Hsu!" Feizhi yelled. Hsu looked up at her. "You have shamed me enough already, Hsu! Will you persist in making yourself look like a fool!?"  
  
"Feizhi . . ." Hsu pleaded.  
  
"Hsu, simply accept that Garet is better than you!" Feizhi continued. "By dueling and losing repeatedly, you are only demeaning yourself and me! You look no braver! Just stupider!" Feizhi, like Hsu, had a thick Xian accent. Her "l"s and "r"s occasionally got confused with one another, and her words were pronounced very choppily. She was the daughter of Xian's karate school headmaster. Her hair was dyed lavender, tied up into a ponytail. Her eyes were a violet-blue, with long eyelashes. Feizhi was one of the "au naturale" types: she never wore makeup, unless it was a very special occasion. Isaac suspected she'd be wearing some of her own bane during the graduation ceremonies later tonight.  
  
"Feizhi, I must retain my honor!" Hsu said.   
  
"How?" Feizhi demanded. "By losing again?" She shook her head in disgust, then turned around and stomped out of the practice court.  
  
"About time," Isaac muttered under his breath. "Hsu was looking dumber by the minute. That should kick some sense into him."  
  
Hsu stared after Feizhi. "Feizhi!" he bellowed. "Come back!" He turned to momentarily glare at Garet, then stood up and ran into the hall, grabbing his sword from the floor as he went.  
  
"About time," Garet muttered, sliding his sword into the sheath on his back. "I was starting to get bored."  
  
"You were starting to get bored?" Isaac said. "Consider us poor saps who had to watch you crush his pride again and again. It was torture!"  
  
"I can't help it if Hsu's jealous of me and all my talent," Garet replied. "Hey, is it time for dinner yet? We've got the banquet before commencement tonight, right?"  
  
"You've got it, Garet," Jenna said. She squealed slightly. "And then the ball!"  
  
Garet and Isaac visibly winced. "Oh, right, the ball," Isaac said, wrinkling his nose. "I almost forgot about that."  
  
"You two will both dance with me, right?" Jenna asked. When neither boy answered her, flames seemed to materialize in her eyes. "Right!?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah," Garet and Isaac said together, "of course we will."  
  
She smiled. "Well, then, I'm going to go get ready for the banquet." With that, she skipped off toward the girls' dormitories.  
  
"Scary," Garet muttered.  
  
"Yeah," Isaac said.  
  
The two stood in silence for a moment before leaving the practice court and heading off in the opposite direction of Jenna, toward the boys' dormitories.   
  
"So, what are we supposed to wear again?" Garet said. "I wasn't really paying attention when they told us last week."  
  
"Our uniforms, what else?" Isaac said. "After the ceremonies, we get," he held up his fingers and made a quote motion, "special," the quote-fingers went down, "uniforms to show that we're soldiers now." He shook his head, causing his blonde hair to fly out in all directions. "And then we go to the graduation ball, which'll probably last until three in the morning or so. I can't stand all these stupid balls this place has." He kicked an empty soda can to vent his frustration. "Spring ball, summer ball, autumn ball, winter ball, Valentine's ball, New Year's ball, there's no end to them! And what's our reward for working our asses off and graduating? Another ball! Stupid!" The soda can went flying across the hall and skittered to a stop behind a garbage can.  
  
Garet grinned. "Ah, but look on the bright side. There'll be ladies there, Isaac, ladies from all over Angara who are invited to the graduation ceremonies!"  
  
"Ladies!" Isaac spat out the word as though it was poison. "Pheh! You can have all the ladies. Knowing Jenna takes care of all the ladies I'll ever need."  
  
The grin on Garet's face widened. "I think wittel Ikey has an wittel crush!" He grabbed Isaac in a headlock and began rubbing his knuckles into his shorter friend's scalp. "You like Jenna, don't you, wittel Ikey?"  
  
"Augh! Garet, I do not! Let go of me!"  
  
"Wittel Ikey is in wuv with wittel Jenna! Aw, how ceee-ute!" Garet pinched one of Isaac's cheeks and stretched it outward.  
  
"No! No, I'm not!" Isaac grabbed Garet's arm, and, with much effort, managed to flip the heavier boy over his head. Garet was left gasping on the floor, while Isaac panted just above him. "You've known Jenna since you were two, Garet. She's your girlfriend, not mine."  
  
Garet drew in a sharp breath. "And what makes you think she's mine, Isaac? She likes you more!"  
  
"Whose class ring is around her neck, Garet?"  
  
Garet paused for a moment at Isaac's query, but then quickly continued, "It's only because she didn't know you had one! She didn't know if you'd have enough money to get one; my parents bought me mine!" He began to get back to his feet.  
  
Garet was the oldest child in a rich family from Tolbi. His grandfather was a close friend of Iodem, Tolbi's mayor, and therefore had many friends in high places. Garet had been sent to the Academy as a sort of disciplinary action; as a ten-year-old, there was no end to the pranks he performed on the other families of Tolbi. He had been caught doing things from destroying Iodem's personal library to trapping Jenna in a cave for three hours. His father had finally tired of his son's bad behavior and sent him away, despite his mother's pleading. Garet held no spite toward his father, however, and went to see his family during the holidays every year.  
  
Jenna was also from Tolbi, though she had moved there from a tiny little country town called Kolima. Both her father and her mother had graduated from Angara Academy, her mother as a staff fighter and her father as a mace wielder. When their money ran low, they moved to Tolbi to live with Jenna's aunt and uncle. Garet and Jenna had both been only toddlers at the time, but immediately became friends. When they grew older, Jenna had become a constant target for Garet's pranks, and it was assumed by both of her parents that she would attend the Academy as they had. Neither Jenna's parents nor Garet's had predicted that the two would head to the Academy together.  
  
"At least you have parents to buy things for you!" Isaac yelled. "All I have is a lowlife of a man that can't even be called my father!"  
  
Garet's eyes became very, very round. "Isaac, let's not get into that," he said. "Please. I don't want to talk about your family; all that ever happens is that you get mad."  
  
Isaac took a deep,rattling breath and continued walking toward the dormitories. "I'm getting dressed," he said to Garet, who jogged to catch up with him. "Then I'm heading to the main hall for the banquet. And don't expect me to stick around for the ball. I'm going to get a good night's rest."  
  
"But you said," Garet panted, "one dance with Jenna . . . she made you swear, remember?"  
  
"Did she? I don't recall," Isaac replied as he continued walking down the hall. The two were almost to the elevator; though they stayed in separate rooms, they lived on the same floor. "Well, fine then. One dance with Jenna. Then I leave."  
  
"Man, you're a real party pooper, you know that?" Garet said. "I mean, it's not like you're getting a mission or anything. We're barely graduates. All the best jobs go to the older kids, the ones that have been out of school for a while." His tone of voice said, "In other words, not you."  
  
"Well, you never know, do you?" Isaac stretched slightly, bending his arms back over his head. "Hopefully I will get a mission soon, and then I can blow this joint."  
  
"You must be smoking that joint you're talking about if you think you of all people will get a mission," Garet muttered before narrowly dodging a pen Isaac had chucked at his head. "Whoa! Down, boy! I was joking!"  
  
"Right." They had reached the dormitories;Isaac pressed a button on the elevator and the two climbed in. "Still, don't expect me to stay up all night."  
  
"That's what graduation is about!" Garet replied as the elevator began to move.  
  
"Whatever."  
  
There was silence before Garet said, "Will you at least come see the all-nighter party? It took Jenna a long time to put together, you know, and she was really hoping you'd be there. . . ."  
  
The elevator came to a stop, and the doors opened with a soft chime. "This is our floor," Isaac said. The two walked down the hall, stopping in front of Isaac's door."I'll talk to you about it later. During the banquet. Okay?"  
  
Before Garet could respond, Isaac had vanished into his room and shut the door.  
  
"Tch, that's Isaac for you, I suppose," he muttered as he walked to his own room.  
  
*****************  
  
"Well, if it isn't the sharp-dressed man!" Garet said as Isaac sat down across from him and Jenna. His reply was an icy blue glare from underneath still-uncombed bangs and thick golden eyebrows.  
  
"Couldn't you at least comb your hair for graduation?" Jenna asked.  
  
Another glare. "Believe me. I tried." Isaac redirected his gaze to his empty dinner plate. "So when can we start eating?"  
  
"The headmaster has to give a speech," Garet said. "Wow, for once I know something Isaac doesn't! That's a shocker!"  
  
"It's a shocker that you know much of anything at all!"Jenna interrupted, smirking.  
  
"Jenna! I'm hurt!" Garet put a hand over his heart and leaned back. "My heart! Tis broken!" He continued to lean back before finally overbalancing and falling out of his chair. A loud crash accompanied the folly, and soon everyone was peering at that table to see just what had happened.  
  
Garet turned red and promptly got back into his chair, muttering under his breath and keeping his eyes downward.  
  
There was the sound of silverware tapping against a wineglass, and the whole dining hall grew silent. People turned around in their chairs as the headmaster stood up.   
  
"Graduates," he said, picking up his wineglass and holding it out, "I propose a toast to you. To your health, your happiness, and your future."  
  
All through the room, wineglasses raised in the air, clinking against one another as murmuring filled the hall. The wineglasses were soon returned to their rightful places on the tables, and silence prevailed once again.  
  
"I have seen you all grow up," the headmaster continued, briefly pausing and pushing his glasses up his nose. "I have seen you mature from naive children into intelligent adults. All I can say is that I am proud. Some of you came out of choice, others did not. The time you spent here belonged to me, your instructors, and your training. The years of your life that lie ahead of you are yours to do with as you will. Enjoy them. Treasure them. They are the most precious thing you will ever have, and before you know it they will be gone.  
  
"The thing I want least is for you to regret those years. Live your lives to the fullest, for you do not know when you will die. Who is truly happier: the old man who has lived long but done little, or the young adult dying after a full and satisfying life? You may answer that question yourself, and it is up to you which one of those options you become. Choose wisely."  
  
He coughed once, cleared his throat, and continued. "This is truly the first night of the rest of your lives. Before, your lives belonged to the Academy. I now return them to you. What will you do with them, my students? My . . . children? For that is what you are to me; you are all my sons and daughters, and watching you grow up and graduate is like watching hundreds of my own flesh and blood do the same."  
  
Isaac glanced up from his plate to see that the headmaster was beginning to cry.  
  
The headmaster wiped his eyes with his napkin, though the tears refused to leave. "Ah, I'm getting too old for this," he muttered. He looked up again, out over the dining hall full of graduating students. "I will remember each and every one of you. Go out into the world. Do your work, whether you decide to continue as a soldier or try another occupation. Enjoy your life while you have it. And above all, remember yourself. Your identity is more important than any sum you can be paid to become someone else. Never compromise who you are for any reason."  
  
He picked up his wineglass again, raised it to them, and said once again, "A toast to you."  
  
He returned to his seat, and the banquet began.  
  
*****************  
  
The ball was even more boring than Isaac had anticipated.   
  
If it had been even mildly entertaining compared to the graduation ceremony itself, he might have enjoyed it. However, he had found that it was even more dull and excruciatingly boring. Even the banquet had been more entertaining. At least someone had showed an emotion during that, and there had been food as well.  
  
Not that Isaac himself was much of one for emotions. Snipers had no emotions. Remorse was too much of a risk to develop any emotion, especially love and pity.  
  
He did, on occasion, feel irritation, which he was experiencing at the moment. One dance with Jenna; that's all he was here for and then he would leave. He had decided not to attend Jenna's party. He wasn't feeling well at the time and thought some rest might do him some good.   
  
He briefly wondered if boredom could drive a person into sickness, or if his illness might perhaps be psychosomatic.  
  
"You're looking well," a man's voice said.  
  
"What?" Isaac looked up to see a taller man than himself in a tuxedo. His hair was all tumbling blue locks over his shoulders, while his eyes were a sort of aqua blue. He was very thin and apparently nowhere close to Isaac in sheer amounts of muscle. His skin was paler than Isaac's own, and a small blue gem was on one side of his collar.  
  
"Mercury Adept?" Isaac asked, taking note of the stone. All Adepts in Angara were required to wear them, in case their services were needed. Isaac himself was wearing a golden one on his right shoulder.  
  
"Yes. And you, you're Isaac Sol. A Venus." Isaac blinked at the man.  
  
"Don't believe I've had the pleasure," he replied. "You are?"  
  
"Alex Merka." The man held out his hand. "From Imil."  
  
"Do you work for the Academy? In the recruitment offices, maybe?" Isaac asked, shaking Alex's hand.  
  
Alex laughed. "Oh, no. I'm just a friend of some of the students here. I wouldn't work for the Academy. I'm too much of a . . . free agent, so to speak."  
  
Isaac frowned. "A free agent?"  
  
"Wild card, whatever you will call it." Alex smiled. "Though that's sort of what you'll be as a mercenary, isn't it?"  
  
"Right." Isaac tried to shake off the odd feeling that had settled over him. "If you don't work in the recruitment offices, then how did you know my name?"  
  
"Oh, you're quite a popular student," Alex said. "Kyle--the headmaster, you know--just can't keep his mouth shut about you, my young friend."  
  
Psynergy. That was what was wrong. Someone very close by was using Psynergy. But who, and where? Isaac didn't dare look around, for fear that this Alex man might think he was rude. "I'm honored that the headmaster speaks so highly of me, sir."  
  
"Oh, you shouldn't be surprised. From what I've heard, the headmaster already has a mission lined up for you, Isaac Sol. But that's what you want, isn't it?"  
  
"I--" Isaac started. It was no use. He couldn't focus, not with Psynergy that close and that strong. He was beginning to get a headache to accompany his stomach pains. Rubbing one hand over his forehead, he said, "I'm sorry, sir, I'm not feeling very well. Please forgive me."  
  
"Oh, don't apologize!"Alex said. "I'm afraid Ply isn't too good with sickness, and you should have Cure since you're a Venus, correct? Alas, I don't believe that does much good either. I'm only sorry I can't help. I'd best be going, then. Come, Sheba, let's go."  
  
Someone came around from behind Isaac. She nodded to Alex, then turned to face Isaac himself. The girl was short but pretty, perhaps fourteen or fifteen. He hair was blonde, cut so it slanted against the back of her neck and framed her face. Her eyes were a vibrant violet, and she wore a small violet gem tied around her neck, indicating that she was a Jupiter Adept.  
  
"So this is the Isaac you've been talking about, Alex?"  
  
"Yes, this is him. Isaac, this is my adopted sister, Sheba. A Jupiter, as you can see. She's one of my best advisors."  
  
The Psynergy sensation had not stopped, and Sheba was staring at Isaac like her amethyst eyes could bore holes in his skull. The headache got worse, and Isaac almost doubled over with pain. Instead of doing so, he managed with a wince. "I'm sorry, sir, lady. Miss Sheba, it's a pleasure to meet you." He held his hand out to her with a great deal of effort.  
  
She didn't move. "The pleasure is all mine," she said, still staring at him.   
  
"Now, Sheba, it's not nice to stare,"Alex said. Sheba immediately looked up at him, and Isaac felt the pain in his head subside almost instantly.  
  
It couldn't have been Sheba who was using Psynergy.  
  
Could it?  
  
"We'll take our leave, then, Isaac," Alex said. "I hope you begin feeling better soon." He and Sheba walked away in the direction of some of the school recruiters.  
  
Isaac rubbed his forehead, then returned his attention to his stomach, which now hurt more than ever. Briefly he wondered if he had accidentally overeaten, but left the thought in the dust when he looked up to see the headmaster standing over him.  
  
"Good evening, Isaac."  
  
"Good evening, sir." Isaac straightened from his hunched position. "What can I do for you, sir?"  
  
The headmaster handed him an envelope. "Read that. Tell no one of its contents unless you plan on taking them as well. And good luck." He vanished into the crowd as quickly as he had come.   
  
Isaac looked at the envelope for about a minute before finally opening it and reading over the paper enclosed. His hands shook; he nearly dropped it.  
  
He had a mission.  
  
"Garet! Jenna!" he yelled, running out onto the floor. He was free to choose whether or not he could have a team, and he wasn't planning on going anywhere without his friends unless he had to. "Garet! Jenna! I need to talk to you now!"  
  
He found them in the middle of a dance, whispered the news to them, and yelped when Jenna engulfed him in a shrieking hug. Garet stood there with his hands on his hips, shaking his head.  
  
"Well, I guess I was wrong. You did get a mission. You sorry dog!"  
  
"You two are coming with me," Isaac continued, talking very quietly and quickly. "We'll all go; I can bring a team, and I'll be damned if I'm not taking you two!"  
  
Garet and Jenna stared at him for along minute before Garet whooped and joined Jenna in the hug.  
  
Isaac ended up staying on the dance floor for a much longer time than he had originally intended.  
  
***********************  
  
So, what did you think?  
  
Never mind, I know what you thought! "ALEX AND SHEBA?!?!" No, they're NOT a couple. I'll have a little cutscene with them in the next chapter... I think. Maybe. I'm flying by the seat of my pants here. Besides, Alex SAID she was his adopted little sister... don't you trust him? D  
  
A note about Psynergy: I know in the games, Isaac and the others could see Psynergy at work. In this world, it's a bit different: you can FEEL Psynergy, as Isaac did in the ball, but you can't distinctly SEE it.   
  
Any guesses as to why Alex is even there? And any more guesses on the person who wants to hire Isaac?  
  
Review Replies:  
  
Gay Witch: Glad you liked chapter 1. I'm a little bit of an FF8 obsessee, as you might have guessed... Laguna rocks!I loooooove Laguna ^_^ Yes, I am getting a *few* quotes from FF8. I'll let you know what they are.... See? There's already a couple down there.  
  
Bubonic Woodchuck: Interesting name. O_O anyway, I'm glad you liked it and I hope this chapter met your satisfaction as well.  
  
dog-eared hanyou: Don't worry, they'll both show up... ^_^ How can I leave Picard out? Thoguh I'll most likely call him Piers. Don't freak out! It's just easier to type and fits this AU world a bit better...  
  
Akachi: Kraden? Now THAT's a thought O_o  
  
Tiger Dauthi: This was partly inspired by "Dark Heart," you know! MORE ON SILENCE, DAUTHI!! MORE!!  
  
hi: Glad you liked it; I hope you liked the bit of depth I added to Garet and Jenna here.  
  
Triad Orion: Babi, that's a good thought. To tell the truth, I'm still workingout the details of the client's identity ^_^; so.  
  
heatherthegreatone: Another Babi guess! We'll have to see, won't we? I tried to explain Garet and Jenna for you a bit, hope it me your satisfaction. And as for the Ivan guess... O_o That's scary...  
  
Midnight C: Ah, yes, that's all right if you don't want to guess. So here's chapter 2, hope it was good...  
  
Viktor Mayrin: *blushes* Amazing? That's a very nice word...  
  
***QUOTE DISCLAIMER: "Whatever" is often used by Squall of FF8. ***  
  
***Headmaster Kyle's "Ah, I'm getting too old for this" is also said by Headmaster Cid in FF8.***  
  
Review.... or else. D I'll sic Picard the freeloader on you.  
  
Picard: Yeah... whatever. *drinking a Mountain Dew and playing Zelda video games*  
  
Picard! Go... sic em or something!  
  
Picard: blah blah review blah blah....  
  
So much for that... 


	3. Gazing into the Abyss

From now on, if you want disclaimers, read the first two chapters. Yes, I'm kind of lazy that way.

Also I will not be doing any more review replies, as I feel it detracts from the story. Thank you.

===

The Reflection of a Shadow

Chapter 3: Gazing into the Abyss

===

"I still don't understand why we have to do it this way."

"Felix, we don't have much of a choice." 

Felix was a tall, muscular teen with long brown hair. "But Saturos, the President will . . ."

"Don't you think I know that already?" Saturos buried his face in his hands. "I don't have a choice, Felix. It's either that we die, or that the Snow Angels die, and I plan on living a full and happy life."

Felix sighed. One hand made its way to his neck, where it loosened his tie slightly. "If you're sure, I'll inform Picard."

Saturos glanced up, his red eyes troubled, and waved his hand. "As you will."

Felix left. It was only a few steps outside that he ran into Picard. He was a well-built man from a mysterious kingdom called Lemuria, which rested far away in the Eastern Sea. His hair was blue-green, tied into a ponytail at his neck, and his eyes were an eerie gold. 

"What news?" He folded his arms.

"Picard, I can't keep doing this."

"Whatever do you mean, Felix?"

"You'll get us all killed and you know it." Felix leaned against the wall of their cabin. "Who knows how long it'll be before you—"

"Before I what, Felix? What makes you think I've been doing anything wrong?" Picard asked, smiling and closing one eye as he did so. 

"I know you, Picard, and I can tell when you're hiding something from me."

"Is that so?" Picard sighed. "And here I was, just wondering what Saturos wanted us to do."

"We're . . ." Felix cursed himself, but whether his suspicions were of no importance right now. Picard was still one of them, and so he needed to know what was going on. "We're to stage an attack on the president, and hope that he blames it on the Snow Angels."

Picard raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"Curse it all, Picard, I don't even know if I can trust you anymore," Felix said. "For all I know, you could be pulling a double-agent act on me, and I wouldn't have a clue!"

"You've trusted me this whole time, and yet now is when you choose to lose your faith? Why?"

"I don't know." At this, Felix paused and thought for a moment. "I really don't know, Picard."

"Well, then, why not just quit worrying? I assure you that I am worthy of your trust."

"I saw you the speaking with the president other day."

"I don't know what that has to do with anything."

Felix turned weary eyes on the Lemurian. "I don't know either, and that's why I'm worried."

"If it makes you feel better, I overheard what the Snow Angels were talking about over radio yesterday."

Felix sighed. "Do tell, then."

"Apparently, they've hired some warrior to do their dirty work for them. They're going to attempt to kill the president on their own, whether we stage an attack or not."

"Well, I'd best tell Saturos about that," Felix said. He rubbed a hand against his forehead. "He'll want to know the details, so you'd better come in as well."

"As you wish." Picard swept a bow and followed Felix back into the cabin.

***

"You're sure he knew nothing about me?"

"Yes, Alex. When have I lied to you?"

"Never." Alex Merka pulled off the small Mercury pin that he had worn to the ball. He cupped it in one hand and inspected it. 

"It's such a silly thing, isn't it, Sheba? To have to go around proclaiming that you're an Adept. As if we're something different. Something . . . lower."

Sheba untied the ribbon that held her purple gem on her neck. "I know, Alex, but it's the way of things."

Alex repeated his earlier question. "Isaac Sol knew nothing about me? Nothing at all?"

"No, he didn't. I read his mind as well as I could, but there was no memory of you whatsoever."

Alex sighed. "Good. It's better that he doesn't remember me." He opened his hand and watched as a slight glow appeared around the pin, lifting it higher into the air. His eyes narrowed as he watched it, and he gritted his teeth.

"I hate the laws!" A crack appeared in the orb. "I hate the requirements!" A second crack. "I hate the academies! I hate the governments! I hate the wars! I hate the political games!"

Crack after crack appeared in the tiny blue orb, and Alex lowered his head. He clenched his fists, and in a very low voice said, "I hate it all."

The orb exploded in a shower of tiny glass shards and blue light.

"Alex? Are you all right?"

Alex glanced at Sheba and smiled. Her eyes, which had been a deep violet while using her Mind Read on Isaac, were now back to their normal green. "Yes, Sheba, I'm fine. Go to bed. I'll see you in the morning."

Sheba nodded and retreated into the depths of the house.

Alex picked a particularly large piece of glass up off the floor. He cupped it in the palm of his hand, looking at it with a blank slate of a face.

In a single motion, he ground it to powder in his fist and released the remains. They fell softly to the floor.

***

Isaac awoke to find Garet standing up and looking out the window.

"You may want to put on your sweater, pal. Prox has never been known for being warm."

"How much longer?" Isaac stood and stretched, rubbing lazily at one eye. They had been on this train for a day and a half already, and he was anxious to step back onto solid ground. Frankly, he could care less about whether the ground was covered in snow or not—it was ground, it didn't move, and hopefully that meant that he would be able to keep his dinners down again.

A small chime came over the intercom. "We will be arriving in Prox in one half-hour. Please prepare to disembark. Repeat, we will be arriving . . ."

"Guess that's your answer," Garet said with a smirk. "With our luck, Jenna will be strolling in here any minute to check on us.

Isaac cringed and looked down at the boxers he had slept in. "Garet, get me some pants."

Garet grabbed Isaac's suitcase off the upper rack of his side of the cabin, then began going through it. He finally tossed a pair of jeans to Isaac, who pulled them on without hesitation. A dark red sweatshirt, emblazoned with the words "Angara Academy For Life," followed. Isaac was pulling it over his head when a half-knock-half-pound shook the door.

"Are you two decent?"

Jenna did not sound like she was in a very pleasant mood.

Garet shoved the door open as Isaac finished with his sweatshirt. "Yes, yes, Jenna, we're decent. What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing. I'm just sick of the train. I need some fresh air." She pushed past Garet and stood over Isaac. "Ready for your big mission, sniper boy?"

Isaac looked up at her. "Jenna, you're not mad at me, are you?"

"No! Not at all!"

"You sound mad at me . . ."

"Garet! Do I sound mad?" Jenna turned to give Garet her famous glare-of-death. He jumped an inch or two, drew his lips back in a wince, and gave her a quick shake of the head. Jenna turned back to Isaac, her smile as cold as ice. "There, you see? Garet doesn't think I sound angry at all!"

Behind Jenna's back, Garet made a gagging motion, putting one finger down his throat. Isaac tried to stifle his laughs, but a few snickers managed to slip out of his mouth. Jenna snorted and glared at him, then turned around and did the same to Garet, who froze in mid-motion. 

The girl snorted. "Boys!" She stormed back to the cabin door and gave them one last glance. "I hope both of you act civil to our clients!" With that, she turned, her ponytail flying out with the quick movement, and slammed the door behind her.

"Who's she to talk about being civil?" Garet snorted, rolling his eyes and walking back toward Isaac. "I mean, it's your mission, after all. You could send us right back to Kalay for all we're worth."

Isaac looked at his hands, fiddling with the sleeves of his too-big sweatshirt. "I wouldn't do that. You know that, right?"

"Of course you wouldn't do it! The point is that you _can_ and Jenna doesn't seem to get that." Garet picked his own dark blue sweatshirt off the floor and started pulling it on. "I mean, we know you wouldn't abandon us, Isaac, but she's acting as if this mission is hers, not yours. I mean, you brought _us_ along, not the other way around." He pulled the sweatshirt over his head, mussing his spiked hair slightly in the process.

The intercom gave another chime, then a buzz. "We will be arriving at Prox shortly. Please prepare to leave the train."

Garet scowled. "We know already! Yeesh, it's not like you didn't tell us that ten minutes ago!"

_Looks like Jenna's not the only one in a foul mood today,_ Isaac thought. _It's probably the weather._ He knew that cold weather tended to make Mars Adepts grumpy. They much preferred warm summer days, if Garet and Jenna were any example of normal Mars Adept behavior. 

Isaac didn't mind. Weather didn't really matter to him. Besides, though it was foggy outside the window, it didn't appear to be snowing at the moment. It couldn't be too terribly cold outside. 

"Hey, Isaac, give me a hand, would you?" Garet was picking up his clothes from his side of the cabin. They were strewn across the floor in a brilliantly colored mess of cloth, and Garet was trying to cram them all into his open suitcase. He didn't seem to be doing well.

Isaac got to his feet, bending over and snatching a few shirts off the floor. "Here, Garet, you just bring the clothes to me and I'll put them away." He stuffed the clothes he had grabbed into Garet's suitcase, then proceeded to shove the other garments down to make room for more. Garet tossed him the clothes and he stuffed them in; soon the floor was clean again. Garet sat down on top of the luggage at Isaac's direction, and Isaac was able to easily zip it up.

"You're good at this," Garet commented, pulling a thick coat on over his sweatshirt.

"You forget. I've lived on my own for years. I've grown accustomed to packing things on my own. The Headmaster used to take me to Osenia and Hesperia Academy with him. I had to learn how to stuff as many things in as small a space as possible." Isaac checked his watch. "But we'll be in Prox soon. You sure you have everything?" 

Garet checked the sword at his side, then grabbed his Light Blade and tied it to his suitcase. "Now I do. Where are your guns?"

"Rifle's in the duffel bag. Handgun's in my holster." Isaac patted a spot on his hip which the hem of his sweatshirt concealed.

"Prepared as usual, I see." Garet shook his head. "Well, let's go. Jenna will be waiting for us at the exit." He pulled his suitcase up, pulling a small handle out of the top and dragging it behind him. Isaac grabbed his own duffel bag, slung it over one shoulder, and followed.

It was cold outside. Bitterly so. Isaac wished he had done the same as Garet, wearing a coat over the sweatshirt that now seemed far too thin. Jenna was standing near a column, shivering and rubbing her hands together as she waited for the two. Garet had already made his way over to her, and Isaac was following when a hooded figure stepped in his way.

"Are you Isaac Sol of Angara Academy?" the stranger asked in a rough, deep voice. 

"I am." Isaac hated being shorter than most boys his age; it meant that he had to crane his neck further to look tall people in the eye. This person was taller than many others he had met, and Isaac had trouble making eye contact.

There was a gruff laugh from underneath the hood. "Good. We've been expecting you. Follow me." A large hand masked in a thick glove wrapped around his wrist. The stranger began to pull him away, toward the exit that led to the northern mountains. A red tower stood out against the mountains, a soft light emanating from its peak. 

"Wait, my team—" Isaac tried to say. The stranger paid no heed, just continued pulling him away. Isaac twisted in the man's grip and called out. "Garet! Jenna! This way!"

At Isaac's yell, the man stopped. "So you did bring a team then," he muttered. "All right, I suppose it'll do. This way, boy." He jerked roughly on Isaac's arms, and the two continued walking.

"Isaac! Can't you even wait for us?" Jenna's breath was heavy as she caught up to the two. Garet was right behind her. "We're your team, after all."

Isaac turned to look at her as best he could while still being led by the hooded man. "Sorry, Jenna. This guy just grabbed me and started dragging me off."

"Get in." The man came to a stop beside a white car that was parked next to the sidewalk. "Leave your luggage here. I'll put it in the back for you."

Isaac gently set his duffel down on the cold cement before climbing into the passenger-side front seat. Garet and Jenna left their own luggage behind as well and climbed into the back of the car. The man shut the car doors behind them, and after a few minutes of loading their luggage into the trunk, joined them in the car. He climbed behind the driver's seat. 

"Well, your client is waiting," he said. "We were expecting you a bit sooner than this, but it's all right. We'll just take a little out of your pay." He turned the key that had already been in the ignition. The car gave a satisfying rumble, and they left the station. Soon they were headed deeper into the mountains, along the winding roads of the northern tundra. 

"Who are you?" Isaac asked at last, after about an hour of being in the car.

The man laughed again. "That's not important. I'm just a humble follower. You'll be meeting your real client shortly. As soon as we get to the Lighthouse."

Even as he said those words, the car came over one last rise that sent them back down into a valley. Against the far wall of mountains was the red tower, the light of Mars glowing from the beacon at the top. The red light turned the sky and landscape to shades of red and orange, painting a picture of fiery beauty against a backdrop of icy danger.

"It's beautiful," Jenna whispered.

The stranger chuckled at her remark. "You're a Mars Adept, aren't you, miss? I can tell you that some of the people around these parts—the Mercury Adepts, namely—feel very different about our beloved beacon. Have you ever seen one of the Elemental Lighthouses before?" Jenna shook her head. "They were lit ages ago by some brave, yet foolish warriors . . . but that's a tale for another time."

They continued down the snowy mountains until they finally reached Mars Lighthouse. All there was here to guide them were some worn tire tracks in the snow. When they at last pulled up to the Lighthouse gate, all of the passengers had been shaken up a bit by the ride. 

Isaac was the first to get out of the car. He gazed up at the Lighthouse. Its very walls seemed to glow with some sort of inner fire, both beckoning and repelling him at the same time. 

The stranger stood beside the entrance. "Come in. Your client is probably getting a bit impatient. She's just inside."

Isaac felt his eyebrows rise. "_She?_" 

"Is something wrong with that, boy? Come on, hurry up. She won't wait forever for you."

Isaac followed the stranger, motioning to Jenna and Garet as they climbed out of the car. They followed as well, walking into the tower.

The stranger led them to a chamber deep inside the lighthouse. There was a stone carving on the floor, intricate symbols and runes carved into it. A few people stood in the room— a couple of children, a girl and a boy, chased each other around the room; a thin, magenta-haired woman was leaning against one wall. She was polishing what appeared to be an old-fashioned scythe. Isaac wondered if he was hallucinating, or if her ears were really pointed, and if those scales on her skin were real.

There were two people standing in the center of the stone circle: a short, blonde boy and a blue-haired girl who looked to be around Isaac's age. The two were deep in conversation, until the boy made a motion toward Isaac and the others. The girl looked up, revealing that her eyes were as blue as her hair. She smiled and took a few steps toward them.

"Maha, you brought them."

The stranger chuckled, a softer laugh than many of his previous ones, and rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. "Yes, I did."

"You can take that hood off now, you know. No one here will mind, and I know you must be awfully hot."

The stranger, Maha, raised his hands, hesitated for a moment, then lowered the hood of his thick black coat. Isaac took a step back upon seeing the man's appearance—his face was covered in grey fur, and two pointed ears rose from the top of his head. The eyes that had been so hard for Isaac to see before were a deep, dark brown, set behind a long snout.

"What—" He looked around again. The magenta-haired girl had looked up from her scythe and was now looking at him with blazing red eyes. The children had also stopped chasing each other and were watching him from across the room. "What are you?" he managed to say.

"What are we?" The girl turned away from Maha. She took a step toward Isaac.

"Hold on, Mia." The blonde boy stepped in between them, brandishing an oddly-shaped staff in one hand. "We don't know anything about him."

"Oh, don't be silly, Ivan. I'm sure he means us no harm." She put a hand on the blonde boy's shoulder and pushed him away. Ivan scowled, but stepped back as told. Mia took another step toward Isaac.

"You are Isaac Sol?"

"Yes. Who are you?"

She put a hand to her chest. "My name is Mia Delluna. I'm the leader of a resistance faction, called the Snow Angels."

Isaac realized what his assignment must be, and stepped back. "The Snow Angels? Then . . . who you want me to assassinate must be . . ."

"You're correct. I've hired you to assassinate the President of Prox." She continued toward him, only a few short steps away now. 

He stumbled back once more. "I . . . I can't . . ."

"You must. We're paying you to, after all. Who are you to refuse a client?"

His mind was reeling. His job was to assassinate a high-up government official! What was he supposed to do? There was no way he could turn down this girl, but at the same time, he didn't know how to handle the assignment he had just been given. Political assassination assignments were usually few and far-between, not to mention that the older students were usually the ones to complete them. 

_Did the Headmaster know what he was assigning me to when he sent me here?_ he wondered. _Did he know that upon my shoulders rests the fate of the entire Proxan Nation? Did he know that I'd be expected to do this?_

Before he knew what he was saying, he voiced his concerns aloud. "Did you tell the Headmaster who you were?"

Mia glanced at Ivan, who answered. "No. We were too worried that the presidency might be tapping the call."

"I can't do this."

Jenna's jaw dropped, and she slapped him on the arm. "You can't back out now, Isaac!" Her voice was a low, hissing whisper. "We came all the way out here! This is how you'll finally become known! You can't back out now!"

Some of her words pierced him, while the others just bounced off the shell around his emotions. 

_This is how you'll finally become known!_

He had always wanted people to know him as more than just some student in Angara Academy. Always wanted to be more than just an empty face, the demon who didn't know how to speak. He was Isaac Sol. He earned a perfect score on his Psynergy skills test. He scored a 149 on his Sniper exam. He needed people to know him.

_But is this what you really want to be known for?_ a small part of his mind asked. _Do you really want your name to go down in history as the one who killed the president of the Proxan Nation? If you do it, for all you know, chaos could ensue as a result. _

_But I can't turn down a client._

_What do you mean? Of course you can._

_If this is what she hired me for, I can't turn her down. Even if it means I'll become known throughout Weyard as an assassin._

He put a hand to his forehead. He was getting a powerful headache. "I . . . I just . . ."

"He'll do it."

"Garet?" Isaac turned to look at his friend.

"I haven't been pals with a quitter all this time, Isaac." Garet grinned. "Besides, I know something deep down in you wants to do this, right?"

He was right. There was still that part of Isaac that liked the bloodshed, liked the toxic high that came off of a kill. But Isaac didn't want to think about that right now. 

All the same, Garet was right. He had to go through with this mission, no matter how much it bothered him to do so.

"All right then, if you can just show me your contract, we're set," Isaac said.

Mia glanced at Ivan, who winced. "Contract?" the blue-haired girl asked.

"Didn't you receive a contract by fax?" Isaac asked. "It's Academy Policy. After having students hired, Angara Academy faxes the clients a copy of the contract." He fished through his pocket and produced his folded letter that Headmaster Kyle had given him. He held it out for Mia to inspect. "Don't you have anything that looks like this?"

Mia's eyes darted from Ivan to the letter and back. Garet folded his arms.

"I get the feeling these aren't our real clients, Isaac." He glanced around the room. "I think maybe they just wanted to use us."

He suddenly found himself being held at scythepoint. The magenta-haired woman had dashed to him in an instant, and had now pointed her scythe at his neck.

Jenna took a step forward as well, pulling her light blade out of its sheath on her side. She took a step forward, but the wolflike Maha grabbed her sword by the blade in one of his hands and pinned Jenna against him with the other arm. He forced her sword arm down. Jenna struggled against him, but to no avail.

Isaac took a step away from Mia. "So you're not the clients then. You just tapped the phone call and thought you'd try to intercept us at the train station. Is that it?"

Mia lowered her eyes.

"Well, if you're not the one who hired me, then I think I can guess who did." Isaac lowered his hand to his side and pulled his handgun out of its holster. "And maybe he'll thank me for doing this." He checked to make sure the safety was off, then raised the gun and took aim.

"Please, if you'd just let me explain—"

"I don't have time for that."

"Shoot her and your friend dies," the magenta-haired woman said.

"Karst! There's no need for threats!" Mia said.

"I'm serious!" the woman said again, ignoring what Mia had said. "If you shoot at Mia, I'll cut your friend's head off!"

Isaac's hand trembled, and his finger twitched.

"Shoot, Angaran, and I'll kill him! I will!" Karst was yelling now.

Isaac slowly lowered his arm a few degrees and turned to look at Garet, who held perfectly still for fear of the scythe at his throat, and Jenna, who still struggled against Maha's tight grip. He lowered his arm a little more and hesitated.

That moment of hesitation was enough. Ivan stepped forward and held out his hands, which shimmered with purple light. Waves of white energy washed over Isaac, Garet, and Jenna.

"Sleep," Ivan said as he cast the spell.

Garet and Jenna fell victim to the Psynergy almost immediately. Isaac, however, struggled to fight against it. His hands were the first to go. He dropped his gun, which clattered onto the floor. He soon dropped to his knees, his vision swimming before him. He looked up at Mia, who watched him closely. 

She was the last thing he saw before the darkness claimed him.

==End Chapter 3==


End file.
